O'Reilly Media is about to launch a new magazine titled "Make: Technology on Your Time".

The first issue includes an article titled "How to Make a Magnetic Stripe Card Reader". The table of contents reads:

The Tower Group has announced research results indicating that multiple state and federal regulatory efforts could jeopardize the success of prepaid products.

"Regulatory oversight is being pursued in the name of consumer protection. But the primary impact could be just the opposite," said Ed Kountz, senior analyst supporting the Bank Cards and Emerging Technologies research services at TowerGroup and co-author of the research.

"The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and individual states are examining whether to reshape existing laws to regulate prepaid. But as they do so, the lack of accurate definitions and the failure to develop a harmonious regulatory framework around the valid consumer benefits of such products could unintentionally stifle the growth of certain payment products in this category," he said.

TSYS has announced that it has finalized an expanded processing services agreement with Bank of America that includes its entire credit card portfolio including its recently acquirer FleetBoston portfolio.

I was speaking with a colleague last week about digital identity systems. We got to thinking about all of the hoopla around federated identity systems that began with Microsoft's ill-fated launch of Hailstorm which then, of course, led to the rest of the industry's Liberty Alliance response.

Then he made an interesting comment: arguably the largest federated identity system currently in use on the planet is Visa's Verified by Visa scheme.

Think about it: a three-party (cardholder, merchant, card issuer) identity management solution that already has millions of participating parties conducting more secure commerce transactions.

MBI and Drugstore.com have announced a collaboration to facilitate the purchase of items eligible for flexible spending account (FSA) reimbursement using MBI's Benefits Card.

LexisNexis has announced a strategic alliance with Verid to authenticate identity in phone and Internet-based transactions.

David Isaac writes for Investor's Business Daily about iPayment.

Not only does iPayment have other firms do much of the actual card-processing, but it also outsources its sales force. "They're almost a virtual company in a way," Merrill Lynch analyst Gregory Smith said. "You could think of them as outsourcing sales and outsourcing the back-end processing."

Steve Ellis, Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo's Wholesale Banking Group has been elected Chairman of NACHA's Board of Directors.